Helene Chung Martin

Last updated

Helene Dorothy Chung (born 20 January 1945), journalist and author (also known as Helene Chung Martin), is a former Beijing correspondent, the first female posted abroad by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). She was formerly an adjunct research fellow at Monash Asia Institute, Melbourne, [1] and is the author of Shouting from China, Gentle John My Love My Loss, Lazy Man in China and her most recent memoir, Ching Chong China Girl, which is also an e-book.

Contents

Background

Born in Hobart, Helene Chung is a fourth-generation Tasmanian Chinese, the younger daughter of Dorothy Henry and Charles Chung. In the 1880s her maternal great-grandfather left the southern Chinese county of Taishan (or Toishan) for the tin mines of northern Tasmania where, like so many around him, he became an opium addict. His son, Helene's grandfather, had no time for the pipe. He worked tirelessly in the tin fields and elsewhere, establishing himself as a fruit merchant, head of Hobart's Henry & Co. Helene's paternal grandfather came from neighbouring Xinhui (or Sunwei) County, began as a market gardener in Hobart and also became a fruit merchant, in partnership with Ah Ham & Co. and with his own firm, Chung Sing & Co.

Helene attended St Mary's College, Hobart, and graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History in 1968, and later with a Master of Arts in History in 1971. On campus she spent most time performing on stage or directing plays for the Old Nick Company.

Journalism

Her first interview, on a claimed sighting of the extinct Tasmanian tiger, was broadcast on the ABC radio program AM in 1968. As a freelancer for three years overseas, in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Cairo, in 1971 she made headlines with the first radio interview granted by The Princess Anne. Back with ABC, she joined This Day Tonight in 1974, so becoming the first reporter of Asian descent – and probably the first non-Anglo face – on Australian television. In 1976 Helene interviewed her former university classmate, history lecturer John Martin, who became the love of her life. She also freelanced for BBC, British Forces Broadcasting Service, CBS, Hong Kong radio, NPR and NZBC.

Writing

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobart</span> Capital city of Tasmania, Australia

Hobart ( HOH-bart; is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by population and area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truganini</span> Aboriginal Tasmanian woman (c. 1812–1876)

Truganini, also known as Lalla Rookh and Lydgugee, was a woman famous for being widely described as the last "full-blooded" Aboriginal Tasmanian to survive British colonisation. Although she was one of the last speakers of the Indigenous Tasmanian languages, Truganini was not the last Aboriginal Tasmanian.

The history of Tasmania begins at the end of the Last Glacial Period when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until the British colonisation of Tasmania in the 19th century.

Ching chong, ching chang chong, and chung ching are ethnic slurs used to mock or imitate the Chinese language, people of Chinese ancestry, or other people of East Asian descent perceived to be Chinese. The term is a derogatory imitation of Mandarin and Cantonese phonology. The phrases have sometimes accompanied assaults or physical intimidation of East Asians, as have other racial slurs or imitation Chinese.

Soccer in Tasmania describes the sport of soccer being played and watched by people in the state of Tasmania in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit of Tasmania</span> Operators of the ferry service between Tasmania and Victoria

TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, better known by its trading name Spirit of Tasmania is a company which has been operating ferries from mainland Australia to Tasmania since July 1985. The company was separated from the Tasmanian Government's Department of Transport in 1993, becoming a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania where it was then named Spirit of Tasmania in August 1993. Each crossing takes on average 10-12 hours both ways

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lara Giddings</span> 44th Premier of Tasmania

Larissa Tahireh "Lara" Giddings is an Australian former politician who was the 44th Premier of Tasmania from 24 January 2011 until 31 March 2014, the first woman to hold the position. Born in Goroka, Papua New Guinea, she was a Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Franklin from 2002 to 2018, and was the party's leader during her period as premier, replaced by Bryan Green after her government's defeat at the 2014 state election. Giddings came from the Labor Left faction. As of 2024, she remains the most recent premier of Tasmania from the Labor Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABC Radio Hobart</span> Radio station

ABC Radio Hobart is the ABC Local Radio station for Hobart, Tasmania, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassy O'Connor</span> Australian politician

Cassandra Stanwell O'Connor is an Australian politician, who was a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2008 to 2023, representing the electorate of Denison which was renamed to Clark in September 2018. Since the 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election, she has represented the electorate of Hobart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Singh</span> Australian politician (born 1972)

Lisa Maria Singh is an Australian former politician. She was a Senator for Tasmania from 2011 to 2019. She had previously been a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, representing the division of Denison from 2006 to 2010. The granddaughter of an Indo-Fijian member of the Parliament of Fiji, Singh was Australia's first female federal parliamentarian of Indian descent.

Edward Thomas Miles (1849–1944) was a businessman and politician from Van Diemen's Land, who during his long life was variously a merchant seaman, a Free Trade Party Member of the Tasmanian Parliament, a Minister in the Braddon government, and an entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeleine Ogilvie</span> Australian lawyer and politician

Madeleine Ruth Ogilvie is an Australian lawyer and politician. She is a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the Division of Clark and is a minister in the Second Rockliff ministry

Briony Kidd is an Australian director based in Hobart, Tasmania. She has a Bachelor of Film and TV from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin Kaw</span>

Chin Kaw, also known as Ah Kaw or Ah Caw, was a prominent Chinese Australian storekeeper, philanthropist, and mining entrepreneur in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, who recruited workers from China for the Tasmanian tin-mining industry and thereby helped Chinese immigrants settle in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mildred Lovett</span> Australian artist (1880–1955)

Mildred Esther Lovett was a figure in the early 20th century Tasmanian and Australian art scene, known as a teacher and as an artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Lilla Holmes</span> Australian artist (1893–1973)

Edith Lilla Holmes was an Australian artist active in Tasmania.

Violet Emma Vimpany was an Australian painter and etcher, and in later life also a master stonemason. She was an active member of, and regular exhibitor with, the Art Society of Tasmania. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Grace Tame is an Australian activist and advocate for survivors of sexual assault. Tame was named 2021 Australian of the Year on 25 January 2021.

Dorothy Edna Annie Edwards was an Australian schoolteacher and civic leader. She served as mayor of Launceston, Tasmania, from 1955 to 1957, the first woman to serve as mayor of an Australian city. She was also president of the National Council of Women of Australia from 1960 to 1964 and a long-serving board member of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and the State Library of Tasmania.

Alice Christina Irvine was an Australian domestic science teacher and author of the Central Cookery Book.

References

  1. Helene Chung Martin (information supplied by subject). "Helene Chung Martin: Journalist and Author". Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmanian Government. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2015.

Additional sources